A New York Times bestseller that brings to life one of the bloodiest battles of World War II—and the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat.The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas. The siege of Stalingrad lasted five months, one week, and three days. Nearly two million men and women died, and the 6th Army was completely destroyed. Considered by many historians to be the turning point of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Army’s victory foreshadowed Hitler’s downfall and the rise of a communist superpower. Bestselling author William Craig spent five years researching this epic clash of military titans, traveling to three continents in order to review documents and interview hundreds of survivors. Enemy at the Gates is the enthralling result: the definitive account of one of the most important battles in world history. It became a New York Times bestseller and was also the inspiration for the 2001 film of the same name, starring Joseph Fiennes and Jude Law.

November 1942: The Eastern Front The trilogy of three books set in the final months of the most vicious battle in history. Leutnant Hausser, a young experienced German infantry officer with the 76th Infantry Division is assigned with a handful of men to the south of Stalingrad. As the fighting heightens in the city, the officer and his men bolster the defences of their allies, the Romanians, on a relatively quiet part of the front. As the Germans strip their flanks and move units into the city in a desperate attempt to clinch victory, the Russian Red Army prepares a massive offensive designed to trap their enemy in Stalingrad. As the Russian offensive is launched, smashing through the flanks to the north and south of the freezing city, small units of survivors desperately try and escape the Russian onslaught. Not many will make it. The battle for the city will continue in the bitterest conditions, the trapped Axis forces struggling against cold, hunger and a vengeful enemy, hell-bent on their destruction. The German air force, the Luftwaffe, attempt to supply the city from the air. Failing to consider the distance, miserable conditions and roaming Russian fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Erich Von Manstein, the German Field Marshall is ordered to break through to the frozen city on the banks of the Volga River, the relief effort (Operation Winter Storm) struggling against Russian forces deployed between them and their goal. Leutnant Hausser and his small squad continue their battle for survival, the rations and ammunition cut, the weather unbearably miserable, their enemy becoming increasingly more powerful and a hunger gnawing at their stomachs. Russian food kitchens are moved near the front lines, ensuring their starving enemy can smell the hot meals provided for their soldiers. The Germans and their allies are down to 1000 calories a day, the city rationing providing limited bread, soup and horse flesh. Loudspeakers deployed across the front sound a clock ticking, a voice announcing that 'Every seven seconds a German soldier dies in Russia.' The loudspeakers play twenty four hours a day. Fiction with an accurate historical backdrop. The writer aims to provide a thoroughly enjoyable and imaginative reading experience at an affordable price for the reader. All three works from the author's World War 2 Series concentrating on the Battle for Stalingrad have achieved Best Seller status on Amazon in the UK and many more stories are outlined. Imagination is personal, free and to be cherished.

One of America’s most distinguished military historians offers the definitive account of the greatest tank battle of World War II—an epic clash of machines and men that matched the indomitable will of the Soviet Red Army against the awesome might of the Nazi Wehrmacht. While the Battle of Kursk has long captivated World War II aficionados, it has been unjustly overlooked by historians. Drawing on the masses of new information made available by the opening of the Russian military archives, Dennis Showalter at last corrects that error. This battle was the critical turning point on World War II’s Eastern Front. In the aftermath of the Red Army’s brutal repulse of the Germans at Stalingrad, the stakes could not have been higher. More than three million men and eight thousand tanks met in the heart of the Soviet Union, some four hundred miles south of Moscow, in an encounter that both sides knew would reshape the war. The adversaries were at the peak of their respective powers. On both sides, the generals and the dictators they served were in agreement on where, why, and how to fight. The result was a furious death grapple between two of history’s most formidable fighting forces—a battle that might possibly have been the greatest of all time. In Armor and Blood, Showalter re-creates every aspect of this dramatic struggle. He offers expert perspective on strategy and tactics at the highest levels, from the halls of power in Moscow and Berlin to the battlefield command posts on both sides. But it is the author’s exploration of the human dimension of armored combat that truly distinguishes this book. In the classic tradition of John Keegan’s The Face of Battle, Showalter’s narrative crackles with insight into the unique dynamics of tank warfare—its effect on men’s minds as well as their bodies. Scrupulously researched, exhaustively documented, and vividly illustrated, this book is a chilling testament to man’s ability to build and to destroy. When the dust settled, the field at Kursk was nothing more than a wasteland of steel carcasses, dead soldiers, and smoking debris. The Soviet victory ended German hopes of restoring their position on the Eastern Front, and put the Red Army on the road to Berlin. Armor and Blood presents readers with what will likely be the authoritative study of Kursk for decades to come. Advance praise for Armor and Blood “The size and the brutality of the vast tank battle at Kursk appalls, this struggle that gives an especially dark meaning to that shopworn phrase ‘last full measure.’ Prepare yourself for a wild and feverish ride over the steppes of Russia. You can have no better guide than Dennis E. Showalter, who speaks with an authority equaled by few military historians.”—Robert Cowley, founding editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History “A fresh, skillful, and complete synthesis of recent revelations about this famous battle . . . As a myth buster, Armor and Blood is a must-read for those interested in general and military history.”—David M. Glantz, editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies “Refreshingly crisp, pointed prose . . . Throughout, [Showalter] demonstrates his adeptness at interweaving discussions of big-picture strategy with interesting revelations and anecdotes. . . . Showalter does his best work by keeping his sights set firmly on the battle at hand, while also parsing the conflict for developments that would have far-reaching consequences for the war.”—Publishers Weekly

"Describes events before, during, and after the Battle of Stalingrad, including key players, weapons, and battle tactics."--Provided by publisher.

Chronicles the bloody history of the battle that became a turning point in World War II and cost three million lives, using archives and eyewitness testimony to capture the excitement and the horros.

The Battle of Stalingrad, perceived by historians as the most important battle of World War II and regarded by Russians as the most significant battle in their country’s history, cannot be viewed solely as a military engagement between two powerful, long-time foes. The Soviet Union, which had climbed to power from the shambles of the 1917 Revolution that saw communism overthrow the czar, and Germany, which had risen from the ashes of World War I’s Treaty of Versailles, certainly had a complicated history. Stalingrad was a battle between the Allies and the Axis Powers; it was a struggle between the Soviet Union and Germany for victory; and it was also a test of wills between Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler, two totalitarian dictators who were willing to do whatever was necessary to demonstrate the supremacy of their systems of government. Inside you will read about... ✓ Josef Stalin: Man of Steel ✓ Adolf Hitler: A Quest for Vengeance ✓ Operation Barbarossa ✓ The Stalingrad Street Fighting Academy ✓ The Heroes of Stalingrad And much more! Stalin had succeeded Vladimir Lenin as the leader of the Soviet Union, and his entry upon the world stage ushered in a reign of absolute power as he bent a battered nation to conform to his will. Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, was elected chancellor of Germany in 1933 and promptly turned the beleaguered nation into a launch pad for Aryan domination. As their armies met at Stalingrad for a long and bloody struggle that would ultimately tally two million civilian and military casualties, the world would watch as two brutal regimes challenged one another while the fate of the free world hung in the balance.

The turning point of World War II came at Stalingrad. Hitler's soldiers stormed the city in September 1942 in a bid to complete the conquest of Europe. Yet Stalingrad never fell. After months of bitter fighting, 100,000 surviving Germans, huddled in the ruined city, surrendered to Soviet troops. During the battle and shortly after its conclusion, scores of Red Army commanders and soldiers, party officials and workers spoke with a team of historians who visited from Moscow to record their conversations. The tapestry of their voices provides groundbreaking insights into the thoughts and feelings of Soviet citizens during wartime. Legendary sniper Vasily Zaytsev recounted the horrors he witnessed at Stalingrad: "You see young girls, children hanging from trees in the park.[ . . .] That has a tremendous impact." Nurse Vera Gurova attended hundreds of wounded soldiers in a makeshift hospital every day, but she couldn't forget one young amputee who begged her to avenge his suffering. "Every soldier and officer in Stalingrad was itching to kill as many Germans as possible," said Major Nikolai Aksyonov. These testimonials were so harrowing and candid that the Kremlin forbade their publication, and they were forgotten by modern history -- until now. Revealed here in English for the first time, they humanize the Soviet defenders and allow Jochen Hellbeck, in Stalingrad, to present a definitive new portrait of the most fateful battle of World War II.